Wildlife

Pocosin Lakes NWR was established to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds, to protect and enhance a unique type of wetlands called pocosin, to protect and enhance habitat for those species which are classified as endangered, threatened, or of special concern, and to provide opportunities for wildlife-oriented interpretation, outdoor recreation and environmental education.

Pocosin is an Algonquian Indian word meaning "swamp on a hill." Though there are no obvious hills, the land is slightly elevated compared to the surrounding landscape. Pocosin wetlands are extremely flat, and their natural drainage is poor. The top layer of soil is comprised mostly of organic material, more commonly referred to as peat, varying in thickness throughout the refuge. The pocosin habitat is a unique fire-adapted ecosystem consisting of a dense shrub under-story, a pond pine over-story and grows on organic soils with depths up to 12 feet.

More than 300 different species depend on the refuge habitat. There is a diverse range of fish and wildlife that inhabit the refuge. Everything from fish, to amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds all make the refuge their home throughout the various seasons. The refuge provides a winter sanctuary for migratory waterfowl, and a year-round home for the endangered red wolf and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, and one of the largest populations of American black bears in North America.

Pocosin Lakes NWR - Management Activities

http://www.fws.gov/pocosinlakes/management.html

Pocosin Lakes NWR - Wildlife List

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/pubs/pocwild.pdf

What are we doing for endangered species?
In 1973, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. The purposes of this Act are to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend and to provide programs to protect such species. According to the Act, endangered and threatened species are of aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is instrumental in providing protection and recovery efforts for endangered and threatened species. Two endangered species found on Pocosin Lakes NWR are the red wolf and the red-cockaded woodpecker.

Red Wolf

The red wolf (Canis rufus) once roamed throughout the southeastern United States but now is one of the most endangered animals in the world. Today, the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula in northeastern North Carolina is the only mainland site in the world for the wild red wolf population.

By the 1970s red wolves existed only along the Gulf Coast of southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. The few remaining red wolves were captured by FWS biologists and brought to captive-breeding facilities. In 1980, the red wolf was officially declared extinct in the wild, with only a small number of red wolves remaining in captivity.

Reintroduction of captive-born red wolves in the Alligator River NWR began in 1987 and then later in Pocosin Lakes NWR. This being the first-ever restoration of an officially extinct species back into the wild. The recovery program has been a success with about 130 red wolves now living on the peninsula.

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/pubs/alwolf.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/5yearReviews/5yearreviews/RedWolf-5YrR.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/

Red-cockaded woodpecker
The red-cockaded woodpecker makes its home in mature pine forests. Long- leaf pines (Pinus palustris) are most commonly preferred, but other species of southern pine are also acceptable. While other woodpeckers bore out cavities in dead trees where the wood is rotten and soft, the red-cockaded woodpecker is the only one which excavates cavities exclusively in living pine trees. Cavities generally take from 1 to 3 years to excavate. The red-cockaded woodpecker plays a vital role in the intricate web of life of the southern pine forests. Refuge management for this woodpecker includes protecting nest trees, inventory of the population and providing mature trees for future nests.

http://library.fws.gov/Pubs4/redcockadedwp02.pdf

Water Management
Water control is a key tool for managing the pocosin habitat and other habitats used by migratory birds and waterfowl. Lakes, marshes, moist soil areas, and open water provide a resting area as well as a feeding area for waterfowl. Diving ducks, such as the canvasback can feed in deep waters. Dabbing ducks, such as the wood duck can only feed in 12 inches (or less) of water. Another important aspect of water management on the refuge is the prevention of flooding of adjacent private lands and habitats.

The refuge staff manages its resources through protection of lands from wildfires, water management, cooperative farming, law enforcement, restoration of native habitat, removal of invasive species, public hunting, environmental education/interpretation, and partnerships with other agencies.

Website sponsored in part by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation